The name Village Capital may evoke visions of some run-of-the-mill financial-services operation, but in fact, it’s a startup-development organization with a decidedly different goal. “Our mission has been to democratize entrepreneurship,” says Nasir Qadree, Village Capital’s sector manager for education. “Village Capital finds, trains and invests in entrepreneurs solving global problems.” It’s a lofty goal,…

Some events from the summer of 1964 in Mississippi are well-known. It was Freedom Summer, tragically highlighted by the brutal murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. The outrage ultimately led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. At that same time, two groups of young men,…

When she speaks, chef and entrepreneur Melba Wilson has the same warm vibe that is found in her Harlem restaurant, Melba’s. Wilson fell in love with cooking watching her grandmother, but she didn’t pursue a culinary career immediately. She initially started her own business providing chauffeurs, but when her aunt Sylvia Woods, of the legendary…

President Barack Obama arrived at the annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, on Friday to call on the tech industry and other digitally savvy folks to help with solving some of the country’s biggest problems. Obama took the stage and fielded questions from Evan Smith, the co-founder and editor of the Texas Tribune.…

Tristan Walker grew up on the hardscrabble streets of the Queens, N.Y., neighborhoods of Jamaica and Flushing, but he’s found a home in Palo Alto, Calif. He loves his native Gotham, but he’s now a Palo Alto man for one very compelling reason.  “No one here underestimates you,” he said during a late-afternoon phone conversation…

Editor’s note: This short-film series is a collaboration between The Root and El Rey Network to support, elevate and promote African-American filmmakers throughout Black History Month via on-air, digital and editorial platforms. Filmmakers were contacted and recruited through film festivals and industry partnerships in December, with finalists selected by both El Rey Network and The…

Editor’s note: This short-film series is a collaboration between The Root and El Rey Network to support, elevate and promote African-American filmmakers throughout Black History Month via on-air, digital and editorial platforms. Filmmakers were contacted and recruited through film festivals and industry partnerships in December, with finalists selected by both El Rey Network and The…

Editor’s note: This short-film series is a collaboration between The Root and El Rey Network to support, elevate and promote African-American filmmakers throughout Black History Month via on-air, digital and editorial platforms. Filmmakers were contacted and recruited through film festivals and industry partnerships in December, with finalists selected by both El Rey Network and The…

Editor’s note: This short-film series is a collaboration between The Root and El Rey Network to support, elevate and promote African-American filmmakers throughout Black History Month via on-air, digital and editorial platforms. Filmmakers were contacted and recruited through film festivals and industry partnerships in December, with finalists selected by both El Rey Network and The Root…

Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the PBS series that takes a very deep dive into the ancestry of famous people, never fails to surprise, but in the third episode this season, which airs Tuesday, it shocks. The show focuses on the family histories of actress Maya Rudolph, TV showrunner Shonda Rhimes and…